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Sumo of the Opera
Sumo of the Opera is the twenty-fourth episode of VeggieTales. It's lesson is perseverance. Plot The Italian Scallion, a joking Sumo wrestler, is to wrestle with Apollo Gourd. Synopsis The opening countertop sequence finds Bob the Tomato alone with a cucumber sock puppet named Lutfi. Larry the Cucumber, we learn, is on his way to do charity work but is having trouble getting there. Bob and Lutfi need to convince him via telephone to persevere rather than giving up and coming home. The first segment, "Going Up!", is a silent film short based on Laurel and Hardy and The Three Stooges. Three Stooge-like veggies are assigned to deliver a piano to a mansion at the top of a hill. While his fellow workers give up on the seemingly impossible task, Larry perseveres and is rewarded for his eventual success. In the second segment, Lutfi presents a story about the origin of St. Patrick's Day. Done in the style of a flannelgraph, the story tells about Maewyn Succat, a young English boy who is kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland. His new life is miserable and he spends his days in constant prayer, even as those around him celebrate paganism. When God tells him it's time to leave, Succat runs away and returns to England by way of France. Back at home, Maewyn continues his scholarship and dreams that the people of Ireland are begging him to come back and teach them about Christianity. Succat grows up to become a bishop, is rechristened "Patrick", and fulfills his destiny to return to Ireland and teach the Word of God. The Silly Song follows, a "Schoolhouse Polka" reminiscent of the Schoolhouse Rock! series of educational shorts. Larry plays the accordion and sings a song about homophones. Finally the main segment begins. In Sumo of the Opera, Larry stars as the Italian Scallion, a Sumo wrestler who has difficulty taking anything seriously. He succeeds in injuring his sparring partner Po-Ta-To as a result of his clowning around when Po slips on a banana peel and falls from the ring, injuring his back He is admonished for his joking by Mikey (Pa Grape), who accuses him of being weak, lacking ambition, and never completing what he starts. When young Hadrian (Junior Asparagus) reminds him that he has not yet fixed his bike. Meanwhile, Apollo Gourd, the champion, is looking for an opponent now that Po has been injured. The prize is a new "Tiger Bike". Wanting the bike for Hadrian, Scallion accepts the challenge. Mikey agrees to become his trainer on the condition that Scallion does everything he says. Scallion starts out well and trains hard, but when things get difficult, he quits. However, when Scallion sees Hadrian emulating him he realizes that he must set a good example and persevere. He returns to his training with relish and eventually is ready for his match with Apollo Gourd, though naturally no one gives him a chance. However, Scallion does surprisingly well in the match. He lasts longer in the ring than anyone ever has against Apollo. When they both tumble out of the ring at the same moment, the match is called a tie. Unfortunately this means that Apollo remains the champion. In spite of this, Scallion is victorious for having persevered and even completes the repairs to Hadrian's bike. Back on the countertop we see that Larry has also persevered and completed his charity work. Characters * Bobby Bob the Tomato * Eight The Shortest Carrot As Himself * Apollo Gourd As Sumo Wrestler * Professor Hat Archibald Asparagus * Jim Gourdly Jimmy Gourd * Mikey Pa Grape * Phillipe Pea As Owner * Scallion Larry the Cucumber * Cameraman Jerry Gourd * Jean Claude Pea As Owner * Potato Guards As Sumo Wrestler * Hadrian Junior Asparagus Segments *Countertop Intro *Going up! *Silly Song: Schoolhouse Polka *The Story of St. Patrick *Sumo of the Opera *QWERTY Closer Songs In addition to the ubiquitous "VeggieTales Theme" and "What We Have Learned," this episode contains the following songs: *''Wrestlers of Japan'', sung by the Sumo chorus *''A Joking Sumo I'', sung by the Italian Scallion *''He's Accepted the Challenge (Part 1), sung by the Sumo chorus *''He's Accepted the Challenge (Part 2), sung by the Sumo chorus *''A Sumo Can't Go Wrong'', sung by the Sumo chorus *''The Feeling of Finishing'', sung by the entire cast *''Schoolhouse Polka'' (Silly Song), sung by Larry Trivia *Schoolhouse Polka is a parody of the educational series Schoolhouse Rock. *At the QWERTY closer scene, Bob gets the telephone recording "If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator." The recording was playing over the standard telephone busy signal. In real life, this recording is not played over a busy signal. * Going Up will return from Lessons From the Sock Drawer. * Schoolhouse Polka will return from Sing-Alongs: Do the Moo Shoo. * The Story of St. Patrick will return from Lessons From the Sock Drawer. Category:VeggieTales episodes